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Eric Schneiderman
Eric T. Schneiderman (born December 31, 1954, in New York City, New York) was the 65th Attorney General of New York. Schneiderman was first elected as attorney general in November 2010 and resigned effective on May 8, 2018, amid allegations of sexual misconduct and abuse.[1]
A Democrat, Schneiderman won election to the position on November 2, 2010, defeating Staten Island district attorney Dan Donovan. The office was open due to Andrew Cuomo's decision to run for governor.[2] Schneiderman was re-elected to a second four-year term as attorney general in 2014.[3]
Schneiderman was mentioned during the wave of sexual assault and misconduct allegations in 2017 and 2018. Four women accused Schneiderman of striking or choking them without their consent according to reports on May 7, 2018. Schneiderman resigned following the allegations and calls for his resignation, including a statement by Governor Andrew Cuomo (D). Schneiderman denied the allegations. To read more, click here.[4]
An April 2013 list of the 100 most powerful players in Albany by the newspaper City and State ranked Schneiderman as number 11.[5]
Biography
Shortly after Schneiderman received his bachelor's degree from Amherst College in 1977 he was named as Deputy Sheriff for Berkshire County, a position he maintained for two years. Upon graduating from Harvard law school, he was brought aboard as a law clerk for the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York until 1984 when he became partner for Kirkpatrick & Lockhart, LLP. Three years later, he served as a statesman for Assembly Speaker Mel Miller. From 1993 until 1999, Schneiderman was elected to be district leader for the sixty-seventh assembly district.[6]
Prior to becoming attorney general, Schneiderman served as a member of the State Senate, representing the people of the 31st Senate district from 2003 until 2010. He spent 15 years as an attorney in private practice.[7]
Education
- Bachelor's degree in English/Asian studies, Amherst College (1977)
- Juris Doctor degree, Harvard School of Law (1982)[8]
Political career
Attorney General of New York (2011-2018)
On Monday, April 12th, 2010, Schneiderman announced his candidacy for the statewide office of attorney general, the seat vacated by Democratic incumbent Andrew Cuomo, who, rather then seek re-election, chose to run for the state's governorship.[9] Five months later, Schneiderman fought off four other contenders to secure the party nomination and received slightly over thirty-four percent of the vote. Schneiderman would go on to win the office in the general election on Tuesday, November 2 against Republican State Island District Attorney Dan Donovan.[10] As Attorney General of New York, Schneiderman was the state's highest ranking law enforcement officer and was responsible for representing New York and its citizens in legal matters. One of his first acts upon taking office was to launch the "Taxpayer Protection Bureau" to uncover fraud and return money stolen from taxpayers.[6]
Schneiderman resigned effective on May 8, 2018, amid allegations of sexual misconduct and abuse.[1] To read more, click here.
Protecting Financial Aid for Students and Taxpayers Act
On March 11, 2013, Schneiderman, with 12 other state attorneys general, sent a letter to Congress in support of the Protecting Financial Aid for Students and Taxpayers Act, a bill that sought to ban for-profit colleges from using federal funds for marketing and recruiting techniques.[11] Senators Kay R. Hagan (D-N.C.) and Tom Harkin (D-Iowa), who chaired the chamber's Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee, sponsored the bill. Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley (D) stated that the proposed law aimed to "ensure that scarce federal education dollars will be used to serve and educate students rather than to finance advertising campaigns, recruitment operations, and aggressive marketing."[12]
In the letter, the attorneys general wrote, "Federal taxpayers should not be asked to foot the bill for aggressive recruiting and deceptive sales tactics of colleges that have placed profits ahead of ensuring student success."[12] At the time, there were an estimated 3,000 for-profit schools nationwide.[13]
On March 12, 2013, the bill was referred to the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions, but no subsequent action was taken and the bill died in committee.[14]
On April 23, 2013, a related bill — HR 340 — was referred to the House Committee on Education and the Workforce's subcommittee on Higher Education and Workforce Training, but it also died in committee.[15]
Ponzi scheme settlement
In June 2012, Schneiderman announced the New York Attorney General's office had finalized a $410 million civil settlement with hedge-fund manager J. Ezra Merkin, whose collaboration with Bernard Madoff in his perpetration of one of history's most devastating Ponzi schemes led to almost $2 billion in losses for New York investors and charitable organizations. Schneiderman called the settlement, which stood to reimburse up to 40 percent of losses for eligible investors, "a victory for justice and accountability.”[16] According to the attorney general, Merkin falsified quarterly reports and other financial documents in order to deceive hundreds of investors into believing their money was safe in his control.[17] In actuality, Merkin was rerouting clients' fortunes to Madoff, working primarily as his "middleman and marketer," and making hundreds of millions of dollars in management and incentive fees in the process.[16] Two years prior to the settlement, the New York attorney general's office first brought charges against Merkin for violations of the Martin Act, "General Business Law § 352; and Executive Law § 63(12)," for concealing Madoff’s control of the Merkin Funds and for breaches of his fiduciary duty to manage the funds prudently." The lawsuit sought damages, disgorgement of all fees by Merkin and injunctive relief.[16]
Settlement negotiations concluded on Friday, June 22, 2012, with Merkin agreeing to pay $405 million over three years to compensate his investors and an additional $5 million to the New York for general expenses incurred as a result of the investigation.[18]
Stop and Frisk
During his 2010 campaign, Schneiderman promised to review the New York Police Department's controversial Stop And Frisk program for fairness. He announced in April 2012 that a "working group" within his office was analyzing data from the program to determine if further investigation was necessary.[19] While numerous lawsuits have been brought against the policy, Schneiderman has not been involved.[20][21]
New York State Senate (1998-2010)
Committee assignments
Senator Schneiderman served on the following legislative committees during his tenure:
- Children and Families (Member)
- Codes (Chair)
- Cultural Affairs, Tourism, Parks, and Recreation (Member)
- Energy and Telecommunications (Member)
- Environmental Conservation (Member)
- Higher Education (Member)
- Judiciary (Member)[22]
Noteworthy events
Hit-and-Run allegation
On Tuesday, July 13, 2010, Schneiderman was accused of being involved in a hit-and-run car accident located in Manhattan. The Democratic state Sen. "was in a car driven by a staff member (Rachel Kagan, niece of United States Supreme Court nominee, Elena Kagan) when it hit a parked car Monday night and drove away," but not before an eyewitness recorded the license plate number of the vehicle.[23] The automobile, owned by an executive editor for NY1, a twenty-four hour cable-news television channel focusing on the five boroughs of New York City, sustained about $3,000 worth of damage in the fender bender. A spokesman for the state senator called the allegation of a hit-and-ran "outrageous" and said that Schneiderman "expressed his sincere apology, and offered to pay for all repairs."[24]
Truancy
Despite having a perfect attendance record in 2009, Schneiderman finished the next year's session with the second worst record in the state senate after missing six out of the eighty days the upper house was convened. His absence had a direct effect on at least two pieces of legislation. The first was on May 28 when his late arrival, "delayed action on a measure needed to restore funding to state parks slated for closure," while the other on June 18 contributed to, "the delay of a key budget vote."[25]
Elections
2018
- See also: New York Attorney General election, 2018
Schneiderman withdrew his re-election bid following his resignation from office on May 8, 2018.
2014
- See also: New York attorney general election, 2014
Schneiderman ran for re-election as New York Attorney General in 2014.[3] Schneiderman was unopposed for re-nomination in the Democratic primary on September 9, and won the general election on November 4, 2014.
Results
General election
| Attorney General of New York, 2014 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Democratic |  Eric Schneiderman Incumbent |
55.7% | 2,069,956 | |
| Republican | John Cahill | 41.4% | 1,538,990 | |
| Green | Ramon Jimenez | 2.2% | 80,813 | |
| Libertarian | Carl Person | 0.7% | 24,746 | |
| Total Votes | 3,714,505 | |||
| Election results via New York State Board of Elections | ||||
2010
- See also: New York Attorney General election, 2010
On November 2, 2010, Eric Schneiderman won election to the office of New York Attorney General. He defeated Dan Donovan (R), Carl Person (L) and Ramon Jimenez (Frdm) in the general election.
| New York Attorney General, 2010 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Democratic | Eric Schneiderman |
55.8% | 2,477,438 | |
| Republican | Dan Donovan | 43% | 1,909,525 | |
| Libertarian | Carl Person | 0.8% | 36,488 | |
| FDM | Ramon Jimenez | 0.4% | 18,028 | |
| Total Votes | 4,441,479 | |||
| Election results via New York Board of Elections. | ||||
| 2010 Race for Attorney General - Democratic Primary[26] | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote Percentage | |
| Democratic Party |  Eric Schneiderman
|
34.4% | |
| Democratic Party | Kathleen M. Rice | 31.9% | |
| Democratic Party | Sean Coffey | 16.4% | |
| Democratic Party | Richard Brodsky | 9.9% | |
| Democratic Party | Eric Dinallo | 7.4% | |
| Total Votes | 661,296 | ||
2008
- See also: New York State Senate elections, 2008
- 2008 Race for State Senate, District 31 - Democratic Primary
- Eric Schneiderman ran unopposed in this contest
| 2008 Race for State Senate, District 31 - General Election[27][28] | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote Percentage | |
| Democratic Party | Eric Schneiderman
|
90.0% | |
| Republican Party | Martin Chicon | 9.3% | |
| Conservative Party | Stephen Bradian | 0.7% | |
| Total Votes | 89,843 | ||
Campaign finance summary
Note: The finance data shown here comes from the disclosures required of candidates and parties. Depending on the election or state, this may represent only a portion of all the funds spent on their behalf. Satellite spending groups may or may not have expended funds related to the candidate or politician on whose page you are reading this disclaimer. Campaign finance data from elections may be incomplete. For elections to federal offices, complete data can be found at the FEC website. Click here for more on federal campaign finance law and here for more on state campaign finance law.
Noteworthy events
Sexual misconduct allegations
On May 8, 2018, Schneiderman resigned following allegations from four women that he had struck or choked them without their consent. In his initial response to the allegations, Schneiderman said, "In the privacy of intimate relationships, I have engaged in role-playing and other consensual sexual activity. I have not assaulted anyone. I have never engaged in nonconsensual sex, which is a line I would not cross.” While announcing his resignation, he said, "It’s been my great honor and privilege to serve as attorney general for the people of the State of New York. In the last several hours, serious allegations, which I strongly contest, have been made against me. While these allegations are unrelated to my professional conduct or the operations of the office, they will effectively prevent me from leading the office’s work at this critical time. I therefore resign my office, effective at the close of business on May 8, 2018.”[1][29]
Both Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) and New York National Organization for Women President Sonia Ossorio called for Schneiderman to resign as a result of the allegations. Governor Cuomo said, “My personal opinion is that, given the damning pattern of facts and corroboration laid out in the article, I do not believe it is possible for Eric Schneiderman to continue to serve as attorney general.”[4]
Personal
Note: Please contact us if the personal information below requires an update.
Schneiderman currently resides in New York City, New York. He is divorced and has a daughter from that relationship. He attends B’nai Jeshuran Synagogue and practices yoga regularly.[30]
Recent news
The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms Eric Schneiderman New York Attorney General. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
See also
| New York | State Executive Elections | News and Analysis |
|---|---|---|
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External links
- Eric Schneiderman for Attorney General Campaign website
- Campaign contributions, 1998-2014
- Project Vote Smart - Eric Schneiderman biography
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 The New York Times, "Eric Schneiderman, New York’s Attorney General, Resigns Amid Abuse Accusations," May 7, 2018
- ↑ The New York Times, " 2010 General election results – New York," accessed July 30, 2013
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Eric Schneiderman, "RWDSU ENDORSES AG SCHNEIDERMAN’S RE-ELECTION CAMPAIGN," May 28, 2014
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 The New York Times, "Eric Schneiderman, New York’s Attorney General, Is Accused of Abusing 4 Women," May 7, 2018
- ↑ City and State, "Albany Power 100 List," April 23, 2013
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Eric Schneiderman, "About Eric," accessed July 30, 2013
- ↑ New York Attorney General, " About the Attorney General," accessed July 30, 2013
- ↑ Project Vote Smart, "Eric Schneiderman's Biography," accessed Sept. 19, 2015
- ↑ New York Post, "NY state Sen. Eric Schneiderman running for Attorney General" April 12, 2010
- ↑ Wall Street Journal, "'Sheriff' Schneiderman Wins Attorney General Race," November 3, 2010
- ↑ The Library of Congress, "Bill Text 113th Congress (2013-2014) S.528.IS," March 12, 2013
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 The Boston Globe, "Attorney generals to Congress: Don’t let for-profit colleges use federal grants and loans for advertising," March 17, 2013
- ↑ Commonwealth of Kentucky Office of the Attorney General, "Letter to Congress," March 11, 2013
- ↑ Congress.gov, "All Bill Information (Except Text) for S.528 - Protecting Financial Aid for Students and Taxpayers Act," accessed August 7, 2015
- ↑ Congress.gov, "All Bill Information (Except Text) for H.R.340 - Protecting Financial Aid for Students and Taxpayers Act," accessed August 7, 2015
- ↑ 16.0 16.1 16.2 Scarsdale Patch, "NY State gets $410 million in Madoff Ponzi scheme," June 25, 2012
- ↑ Associated Press, "Hedge fund manager to pay $405M to Madoff victims," June 24, 2012
- ↑ The New York Times, "Hedge Fund Manager Merkin to pay $405 million in Madoff settment," June 24, 2012
- ↑ Huffington Post, "NYPD Stop And Frisk: State Attorney General Schneiderman Examining Controversial Program For Fairness," April 11, 2012
- ↑ New York Daily News, "NYPD's controversial 'Stop and Frisk' policy ruled unconstitutional," January 8, 2013
- ↑ CNN, "New York's stop-and-frisk policy now in the judge's hands," May 21, 2013
- ↑ New York State Senate, "List of Standing Committees," accessed December 19, 2014
- ↑ The Huffington Post, "Eric Schneiderman, NY State Senator, Involved In Alleged Hit-And-Run," July 14, 2010
- ↑ Politics on the Hudson, "Eric Schneiderman and the fender bender," July 14, 2010
- ↑ New York Post, "AG wannabes are 'hooky' monsters," July 19, 2010
- ↑ New York State Board of Elections, "2010 Primary Election Results," accessed December 19, 2014
- ↑ New York State Board of Elections, "Official Primary results from September 9, 2008," accessed July 31, 2014
- ↑ New York State Board of Elections, "Official Senate Election Returns November 4, 2008," accessed July 31, 2014
- ↑ The New Yorker, "Four Women Accuse New York’s Attorney General of Physical Abuse," May 7, 2018
- ↑ The New York Daily News, "State Attorney General Eric Schneiderman loves yoga so much that he talks about it at work," April 18, 2012
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Andrew Cuomo (D) |
New York Attorney General 2011-2018 |
Succeeded by Barbara Underwood (D) |
| Preceded by Efrain Gonzalez |
New York Senate - District 31 2003-2010 |
Succeeded by Adriano Espaillat (D) |
| Preceded by Franz Leichter |
New York Senate - District 30 1999-2002 |
Succeeded by David Paterson (D) |
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